Olympic drive kicks off in city

Olympic drive kicks off in city
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published Jan. 22, 2003

What kind of legacy could the 2010 Olympic Games leave Burnaby?
The benefits might include a new national training centre for young female hockey players, or maybe even a boost to the already world-famous sports medicine program at Simon Fraser University, says the new chair of the Burnaby 2010 committee.
"Why do I support the Olympics? Because I want to support our youth and the upcoming generation," said Sev Morin, who is just beginning the work to determine what kind of legacy our city wants in the event the Winter Olympic Games come to this province.
"It's always a gamble, but you never achieve anything worthwhile unless you're willing to reach for the stars."
Morin, best known as the former owner of Sev's nightclub on Kingsway, was appointed to chair the Burnaby 2010 committee this week as the campaign to support the Vancouver-Whistler bid kicked into high gear.
Morin admitted his new role will involve a whole lot of cheerleading, but he's also setting the groundwork to ensure the Olympics leave behind something more substantial.
Already just one day into his new role, Morin has found ample evidence that the Olympics could trigger all kinds of good things.
For instance, when Burnaby hosted the 1972 Canada Summer Games, the city received government support to build what was once a world- class rowing facility. And when the 1997 B.C. Summer Games came to town, that provided city hall the impetus for developing the Burnaby Lake sports field complex.
Morin said Burnaby already has an excellent tradition and legacy based solely on the performance of city athletes who have gone on to perform at the Olympics. He specifically pointed to Canadian hockey hero 'Burnaby' Joe Sakic, 1988 Olympic bronze medal decathlete Dave Steen and 1984 Olympic bronze medal boxer Dale Walters.
One of his first orders of business will be attending a series of meetings with local community leaders this week to find out what they want to come out of the Olympics.
During one of his first meetings, Morin met Nancy Drolet, a Burnaby resident and a long-time member of the Canadian national women's hockey team.
"Nancy wants to set up a school for young women in hockey, and I told her that I'd be willing to talk to other Burnaby people who I know that are from Burnaby and involved in hockey, such as Richard Brodeur and Jack McIlhargey."
"We've got a gold mine of people in Burnaby."